Baughman is a Robert A. Welch Chair in Chemistry and director of the Alan G. MacDiarmid NanoTech Institute at UT Dallas. He was recognized for the appointment by Nankai University President Zihe Rao.

Baughman is in esteemed company with the honorary professorship. Nankai University has conferred such professorships on former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and Nobel laureates Chen Ning Yang and Samuel Chao Chung Ting, among others. Recipients of the title may deliver lectures and speeches and work in conjunction with the university’s faculty.

“The honor is recognition of Baughman’s path-breaking discoveries in the use of carbon nanotubes, including applications as artificial muscles,” said Dr. Myron Salamon, dean of the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. “UT Dallas is indeed honored to be Professor Baughman's home institution. He personifies our quest to achieve national prominence.”

The professorship was named for Dr. Yang Shixian, a chemist who served as president of Nankai University. He was educated at Cornell University and Yale University. Chemists credit him with laying the foundation for chemical research in China.

“I am very excited by the opportunities resulting from becoming a holder of the honorable Yang Shixian Professorship,” Baughman said. “It presents an opportunity to collaborate with giants in science and technology at Nankai University to provide scientific breakthroughs that help solve some of humankind’s most challenging and pressing technological problems.”

Nankai University, located in Dallas’ sister city of Tianjin City, China, offers degrees in natural sciences, technology, life sciences, medicine and arts and humanities. The university has more than 1,500 faculty and 27,800 students.

“I welcome the opportunity to help strengthen scientific, technological and business relationships between Dallas and its sister city Tianjin, which is the fifth-largest city in China and the home to Nankai University,” Baughman said.